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A question of decorum

3K views 33 replies 20 participants last post by  feralmerril 
#1 ·
A good and long time friend of mine kept asking me to keep my eyes out for any "good deals" that might come along for a pistol for home. Eventually a S&W mod 59 came my way from an estate and I picked it up. This is about a year ago. I'm personally not a fan of them and I showed it to him. I offered it to him for exactly what the cost was to me, far below market. He's not a novice with firearms; Texan, Veteran and grew up shooting. He liked it but just recently started mentioning that he'd rather have a revolver.

Now comes the decorum part. His asking me about it is along the lines of "how much could I get him for it?" I know he sees an opportunity that he could make a few hundred.

I don't want to be petty but something grates on my nerves about this. Am I being petty?
 
#3 ·
I don't want to be petty but something grates on my nerves about this. Am I being petty?
You aren't being petty. Sell the 59 and get something you want.

Years ago I gave a friend my old RCBS Jr. press when I upgraded. He was just getting started in reloading and money was supposedly tight. A week later I was in one of the town's two gun shops and saw my press on the floor with other used "junk" and a $30.00 price tag. The owner says "You know so-and-so, he brought it in a few days ago and he traded it for a couple of boxes of ammo."

He never said anything to me and I never asked. We remained friends but never thought very highly of him again.
 
#4 ·
You're definitely not being petty!

I've had this kind of thing happen often with computers and such, as I work in IT. People often ask me for help help purchasing a computer or computer repairs, but seldom are they willing to pay for it. Once, after buying a computer for someone and spending a few days setting it up, they said they changed their mind, leaving me with the bill - one that I couldn't really afford at the time.

After that fiasco, I now have a policy: if someone wants advice and they ask nicely, I give them advice. But I don't part with any of my funds for anyone. .And when someone asks me to repair something, I always tell them how much it's going to cost them before I do any work.
 
#5 ·
You're not being petty.
If you bought the gun with YOUR money, holding it for him, and now he's backing out of that understanding & expecting you to sell it for him at a profit, he's using you as a bank loan & sales agent.

Your money.
Your efforts in locating the gun.
Your efforts to now sell it for him.
While he does nothing & expects any profits off the gun to go to him?

My friends don't pull that kinda crap on me.
If they do, they're no longer my friends.
Denis
 
#8 ·
No, he's had the gun for a year. It was a complete done deal on the day I brought it to him to see if that would be what he wanted. I knew the gun since it was new in the 70's and it is 95% and may have even had the box, I can't remember. I've known him for 20+ years but we rarely get involved in trading anything.

I don't like to "buy and sell" guns. I just like to find the things I am interested in, which is too many. Selling guns is too much complexity for me to keep up with.

I think I'm just going to tell him I'll buy it back for what I had into it in the first place.
 
#10 · (Edited)
No you are not being petty. But, IF I'm reading correctly, you sold the pistol to him a while ago and he is now hinting that he may sell to get a different pistol? He might be feeling bad and that is why he is hinting around. I can see why it bugs you but I also can also see the other guys point of view; at least he's kind of giving you a heads up. How long would be a reasonable amount of time to sell? If I've misunderstood something, please ignore.
 
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#11 ·
I think is issue is that jban found the gun at a great deal (or worked to make the deal) and passed on that savings to his buddy. The buddy had it for a year and wants to flip it for a profit now.

jban: "Here's a model 59 for $400"
Friend: "Wow, that's a great deal. Thanks for doing the leg work for me...think I can get $600 for it and make $200 off the deal you made?"
(I made those numbers up, obviously).
 
#12 ·
To be clear:
He asked you to keep an eye out.
You did.
You found a gun
You bought the gun with your money.
You sold the gun to him for what you paid, which was a good price, below market.
A year later he decides he's not happy.
He wants something else.
He now wants you to sell it for him & he get's the profit.

Right?
Denis
 
#17 ·
Sounds like you're not an FFL holder .
Buying a gun for another in this case appears to be a straw purchase . Tell him due to legalities you're sorry but he'll have to handle it on his own .
Whatever profit he makes will be a lesson learned .
 
#18 ·
OK, now that I got the entire story, he is taking advantage of your friendship. It's a little ungrateful to sell after a year but a slap in the face to have you sell for him and expect you to maximize his profit, bad form and a crappy friend. IMHO
 
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#19 ·
guy, don't make it sound like an arranged purchase to help circumvent any laws. I'm not an FFL but I did have ownership for more than enough time to sell it to him. I didn't "purchase it for him" specifically and actually I took ownership of it in lieu of payment for services in liquidating a friends estate, a sad task indeed.

I didn't really mean to paint my friend in such a bad light. The circumstances are factually correct but I think this is more about a retired civil service person thinking that my wheeling and dealing is enticing. Now after seeing the responses I will not feel like a baby in setting this whole affair straight with no nose bleeds. There is a lot of Texas style BBQ on the table with this that I don't want to walk away from.
 
#25 ·
It's a little bit of a jerk move if he's asking you to sell it for him. Sure.

But the fact that he's selling it isn't a problem. If he is selling it on his own, then I see nothing wrong with what your friend did. Sure, he got a good deal from you and then changed his mind. But at that point your deal was done and both parties bargained at arms length and were satisfied with the transaction. He has every right to sell the gun he bought at a profit. No reason he should pass the good deal down the line to the next guy.
 
#27 ·
I'll point friends in the right direction if they want free advice or if they're looking for something in particular but I don't buy anything for anyone other than me or my wife. OTOH, when I buy something, it's mine to keep or flip if I see fit.
 
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